The Vegetarian: A Novel by Han Kang (Revised Edition) (2024 Nobel Prize in Literature Winner)

Author Han Kang · Publisher Changbi · Published 2022-03-28 · ISBN 9788936434595

About the Book

The Brutal Coexistence of Violence and Beauty
The Enduring Power of Han Kang's Novels, Still Read Anew

First published by Changbi in 2007, The Vegetarian has been consistently translated and published in various countries, including Japan, China, and France, since 2010. After the prestigious literary publisher Portobello published the English edition in 2015, it garnered significant attention, reaching No. 1 in the fiction top 10 at Foyles bookstore in the UK. After the American edition was published in 2016 by Hogarth, a literary imprint of Penguin Random House, one of the largest publishing groups in the U.S., it received critical acclaim from numerous influential media outlets, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, and Library Journal. The publishing trade magazine Publishers Weekly even named The Vegetarian as the first of the 'most anticipated and noteworthy novels of Spring 2016,' quickly placing it at the center of attention. Finally, in 2016, it won the International Booker Prize, solidifying its status as a truly global work.

Part 1 of The Vegetarian, "The Vegetarian," is narrated from the perspective of Yeong-hye's husband, 'I'. Traumatized by the memory of her childhood dog being killed after biting her leg, Yeong-hye one day becomes haunted by a horrific image in a dream and begins to shun meat. 'I', unable to comprehend Yeong-hye's actions, enlists her in-laws to try and persuade her. At a housewarming party at Yeong-hye's sister In-hye's house, Yeong-hye again refuses meat. When her displeased father-in-law forcibly tries to put meat into Yeong-hye's mouth, Yeong-hye slashes her wrist on the spot. Part 2, "Mongolian Mark," is narrated from the perspective of In-hye's husband and Yeong-hye's brother-in-law, a video artist, 'I'. After hearing from his wife In-hye that Yeong-hye still has a Mongolian mark on her bottom, 'I' begins to desire Yeong-hye's body. 'I' goes to Yeong-hye and asks her to be a model for his video art. 'I' ultimately paints flowers on his body and copulates with Yeong-hye, then films the video artwork. The next day, his wife discovers the two naked. Part 3, "Flaming Trees," is narrated from the perspective of In-hye, who must nurse Yeong-hye, abandoned by all her family. In-hye meets Yeong-hye, who has stopped eating and drinking, even refusing intravenous fluids, becoming as thin as a tree branch. Yeong-hye tells her that she will soon become a tree.

Yeong-hye, who, due to childhood memories of violence, thoroughly rejects meat and dreams of becoming a tree, seems to envision a harmless existence that breaks the cycle of violence and causes no harm to other living beings. The author, who has ceaselessly questioned human nature and delved into 'suffering,' revealed in this revised edition, "I confess that I harbored complex emotions for this book. (...) But now, with my hair graying at the temples and my mind clearer than ever, I have the strength to embrace this novel. This book, still full of vivid suffering and questions" (from the newly written author's note).

Meanwhile, the rights to The Vegetarian have been exported to over 40 countries to date. In September of this year, it will be adapted into a play and staged at the National Theater Company, then will meet international audiences at the Théâtre de Liège in Belgium in December.

Author's Note

Upon hearing the news of this revised edition's publication, the first thing that came to mind were the sensations of the autumn and winter nights of that year. Nights when I would (hopelessly) run through lists of novels I wanted to write if my body recovered. At that time, The Vegetarian was already a full-length novel consisting of three parts, and the titles were the same or nearly identical to now. Three years later, I began writing the first part, and after another two years, I was able to complete it. I remember titling the file 'Trilogy of Suffering' when I wrote "Flaming Trees" at the end.

In the fifteen years since its publication, as time flowed like a torrent, I confess that I harbored complex emotions for this book. The public's attention and misunderstandings were so intense and sharp that there were times I felt it had become estranged from the truth of the moments when I wrote this novel alone. But now, with my hair graying at the temples and my mind clearer than ever, I have the strength to embrace this novel. This book, still full of vivid suffering and questions.

To those who created this revised edition,
and to the new readers I will meet,
I extend my grateful and warm greetings.

In early spring of 2022
Han Kang

Table of Contents

The Vegetarian
Mongolian Mark
Flaming Trees

Newly Written Author's Note
Author's Note
Publication Details of Included Works